Fairings

Quick question if I may . . .

Bought my EZ-Sport Ltd last September, put close to 500km on
it before the snow set in, and loved every up and downhill road I went
on.

Considering treating myself to a fairing this year. Zipper
comes to mind, primarily because the local shop pushes the brand.

I've read in here over the winter, several mentions that
fairings do next to nothing until the higher speeds are reached.

Given that I'm somewhat beyond my ideal height/weight ratio,
and an ex smoker, if I can hit 30kph on a level stretch, the giant
grin on my face starts catching air and slows me down. Obviously I'd
be wise to tune the 'engine' before worrying about aerodynamics.

None the less . . .

Is there any sense in a slower rider using a fairing? Speed,
at least for me, isn't the name of the game . . . but I'm not entirely
adverse to blowing by the odd DF. Could a fairing have any postitive
effects for someone who averages 18-24 kph, depending on the day?

Is there any sense in a slower rider using a fairing?

In a word, no; but it's your decision whether a little extra speed on a
level or downhill road is worth the cost and weight of a fairing.

"LioNiNoiL at NetScApE_DoT_NeT" wrote
Is there any sense in a slower rider using a fairing?

In a word, no; but it's your decision whether a little extra speed on a
level or downhill road is worth the cost and weight of a fairing.

A front fairing may help keep the rider warmer and drier.
A cyclist enjoying riding longer and more often could easily
drop the weight of a windscreen in body mass. %^)

Jon Meinecke

Bent Pedals wrote in message . ..
Quick question if I may . . .

Bought my EZ-Sport Ltd last September, put close to 500km on
it before the snow set in, and loved every up and downhill road I went
on.

Considering treating myself to a fairing this year. Zipper
comes to mind, primarily because the local shop pushes the brand.

I've read in here over the winter, several mentions that
fairings do next to nothing until the higher speeds are reached.

Given that I'm somewhat beyond my ideal height/weight ratio,
and an ex smoker, if I can hit 30kph on a level stretch, the giant
grin on my face starts catching air and slows me down. Obviously I'd
be wise to tune the 'engine' before worrying about aerodynamics.

None the less . . .

Is there any sense in a slower rider using a fairing? Speed,
at least for me, isn't the name of the game . . . but I'm not entirely
adverse to blowing by the odd DF. Could a fairing have any postitive
effects for someone who averages 18-24 kph, depending on the day?

In a word, yes. It'll pay off in spades if you run into headwinds,
but there'll always be a benefit. I disagree with the people who say
there's no benefit at slower speed- it's just that the benefit is
comparitively tiny. For the majority of people, they won't notice the
difference carrying the extra weight up the hill, either. Go back
down the hill and you'll be thankful you had the fairing.

IMO, fairings on the Easy Racer-style bikes "make" the bike.

Jeff

"Jon Meinecke" wrote in
s.com:

"LioNiNoiL at NetScApE_DoT_NeT" wrote
Is there any sense in a slower rider using a fairing?

In a word, no; but it's your decision whether a little extra speed on a
level or downhill road is worth the cost and weight of a fairing.

A front fairing may help keep the rider warmer and drier.
A cyclist enjoying riding longer and more often could easily
drop the weight of a windscreen in body mass. %^)

Jon Meinecke

What Jon said is right on the money
I bought one a month ago, not for speed, but in an attempt to make my
commute more comfortable. At 10F my feet (one layer socks, street shoes)
stayed warm enough, at 20, I could ditch the XC ski mittens and go for the
yellow cloth 'farm" gloves, at 40, no gloves or mittens at all. I'm really
pleased with the result. Probably won't use it much during the summer,
just save it for next winter, but I rationalized its purchase by
considering it as a tool. If I could just figure it as a toy, it would
extend a normal riding season by several weeks on either end.


Howard
(bitshift, etc)

On Tue, 02 Mar 2004 01:55:11 +0000, Bent Pedals wrote:

Quick question if I may . . .

Bought my EZ-Sport Ltd last September, put close to 500km on
it before the snow set in, and loved every up and downhill road I went
on.

Considering treating myself to a fairing this year. Zipper
comes to mind, primarily because the local shop pushes the brand.

I've read in here over the winter, several mentions that
fairings do next to nothing until the higher speeds are reached.

Given that I'm somewhat beyond my ideal height/weight ratio,
and an ex smoker, if I can hit 30kph on a level stretch, the giant
grin on my face starts catching air and slows me down. Obviously I'd
be wise to tune the 'engine' before worrying about aerodynamics.

None the less . . .

Is there any sense in a slower rider using a fairing? Speed,
at least for me, isn't the name of the game . . . but I'm not entirely
adverse to blowing by the odd DF. Could a fairing have any postitive
effects for someone who averages 18-24 kph, depending on the day?
I ride a faired Tour Easy to work almost every day, rain or shine, summer
and winter. It's been my experience that a head wind slows you down a lot.
My df buddies ride quite a bit faster than I do in a headwind. But with a
tailwind or crosswind the effect is anything from nil to a positive boost
with a boost almost always being the case.
Fairings also offer a good bit of protection during the rain.

I ride a faired Tour Easy to work almost every day, rain or shine, summer
and winter. It's been my experience that a head wind slows you down a lot.
My df buddies ride quite a bit faster than I do in a headwind. But with a
tailwind or crosswind the effect is anything from nil to a positive boost
with a boost almost always being the case.
Fairings also offer a good bit of protection during the rain.

Funny how perspectives differ. My first faired experience was with a Stratus
with Zipper fairing.

I was leading the paceline when we took a turn from north bound to east. My
speed dropped a bit, no big deal on that kind of turn, and I accelerated back up
to 18/19 mph and did what I could to maintain that pace because that is what I
usually did on that road. The guy right behind me shouted "how does that do in a
head wind", I replied I hadn't yet ridded in one, to which he told me we were in
one strong enough that if he did stay right on my wheel, he would get blown off,
and indeed when we stopped, I was amazed at how strong the wind was. My theory
is that being sheltered from the wind spared me from the morale killing effect
of the wind, and I just used more effort than I otherwise would have needed.

In other times on different bents, with and with out fairings, if I feel the
wind on my chest, even with the extreme riding position of the Corsa, I slow
down, with the fairing protecting me I just don't notice it and loose very
little if any speed.... mind games...

There were a few Saturday morning club rides last Fall when I got elected
(by default) to "pull" for the whole pack for the first 15 miles of the
ride. It was to darn cold to go more than 15 MPH, but behind my fairing I
was comfortable going 18-19, so everybody just fell in behind me. The
roadies were all thankful that they didn't have to ride into that frigid air
unprotected. Thing is, though, a roadie has to practically put his chin on
the handlebars to get low enough to effectively draft behind me. Not my
problem, though. In general, I tend to appreciate my fairing more in Winter
weather.

On the down side, those nylon nuts and bolts can be a pain, always loosening
up and falling out on the road. My solution (and a good one, it turns out)
was to liberally coat the bolts with clear silicone RTV.

--
Bill Anton
2001 Vision R-40 26x26 SWB OSS
Lubbock, TX, USA

"Mike Euritt" wrote in message
...
I ride a faired Tour Easy to work almost every day, rain or shine, summer
and winter. It's been my experience that a head wind slows you down a
lot.
My df buddies ride quite a bit faster than I do in a headwind. But with a
tailwind or crosswind the effect is anything from nil to a positive boost
with a boost almost always being the case.
Fairings also offer a good bit of protection during the rain.

Funny how perspectives differ. My first faired experience was with a
Stratus
with Zipper fairing.

I was leading the paceline when we took a turn from north bound to east.
My
speed dropped a bit, no big deal on that kind of turn, and I accelerated
back up
to 18/19 mph and did what I could to maintain that pace because that is
what I
usually did on that road. The guy right behind me shouted "how does that
do in a
head wind", I replied I hadn't yet ridded in one, to which he told me we
were in
one strong enough that if he did stay right on my wheel, he would get
blown off,
and indeed when we stopped, I was amazed at how strong the wind was. My
theory
is that being sheltered from the wind spared me from the morale killing
effect
of the wind, and I just used more effort than I otherwise would have
needed.

In other times on different bents, with and with out fairings, if I feel
the
wind on my chest, even with the extreme riding position of the Corsa, I
slow
down, with the fairing protecting me I just don't notice it and loose very
little if any speed.... mind games...

Quoth Mike Euritt :
[ ... quoting someone else ]
| I ride a faired Tour Easy to work almost every day, rain or shine, summer
| and winter. It's been my experience that a head wind slows you down a lot.
| My df buddies ride quite a bit faster than I do in a headwind. But with a
| tailwind or crosswind the effect is anything from nil to a positive boost
| with a boost almost always being the case.
| Fairings also offer a good bit of protection during the rain.
|
| Funny how perspectives differ. My first faired experience was with a Stratus
| with Zipper fairing.
....

I didn't read that "fairing slows you down in a head wind", just
"head wind slows you down" (vs. no head wind.) That sure applies
to me - a head wind doesn't make me faster.

I believe the average DF rider will actually coast down hill faster
than me, but the difference is less if my fairing is on. Maybe about
the size of the very small advantage I get from the recumbent position.
(I'm built like a kite.)

Donn

On Tue, 02 Mar 2004 02:20:23 GMT, Mike Rice wrote:

I'm a slow rider on a Tour Easy. I love my bike with the fairing, it
handles better on windy days and goes faster downhill. It makes
fighting a headwind easier, and really catches the tailwinds , even
most crosswinds seem to give a little boost.

Picked up the Zipper fairing late Saturday afternoon Mike.
(03/29). After a qucik installation, went for a short neighbourhood
ride and wasn't very impressed. Fiddled about in the driveway, fine
tuning the installation and it seemed a bit better. Got up Sunday and
did some more fine tuning, improving each time. Just got back from a
20k night ride and I am now impressed.

Seems the first few set-ups were too low on the bike, and
while I noticed my body wasn't feeling the air, my eyes were watering
from the airflow over the top. I ended up raising the entire set-up
on the bike and put a lot more curve/arc to it. Airflow seems to
clear over my head now.

Grin, of course now I need to put a chin strap on my baseball
cap to keep it on my head . . .

Thanks for your feedback . . . think I'm going to like the
fairing. Time will tell.